Rangers teen Fraser Aird has pledged to fire Gers back to the top tier after homecoming heartbreak

RANGERS youngster Fraser Aird reveals he was left devastated after his return to his native Canada was blighted by a knee injury.

Injured Rangers player Fraser Aird getting treatment on the sidelines at training

FRASER AIRD has vowed to fire Rangers back to the top flight after his heartbreak at missing-out on a happy homecoming.

The teenager was devastated last week after his return to his native Canada was spoiled.

Aird sustained a knee injury in the opening match of the North American Tour against Ventura County Fusion 12 days ago.

The knock saw the 19-year-old miss out on games against Victoria and Ottawa and the chance to play in front of the locals. It was a killer for Aird. From the age of three, he would make an early-morning matchday trip with his dad from his home in Toronto to the Rangers supporters club in the nearby suburb of Scarborough.

Aird had a busload of 75 from the club in Ottawa as well as his friends, family and even his girlfriend from Scotland in TD Place for the game, yet he was stuck in the stands instead of strutting his stuff on the field.

He said: “I’ve been really unlucky. I was back in Canada on tour and I’ve gone and picked up a knee injury in the first game.

“I wasn’t able to train or play in the other tour games, especially the final game in Ottawa which is only 200 miles away from where I grew up.

“A lot of my friends and family bought tickets for the game and came down to see me play.

“I had my mum and dad there and my girlfriend flew over from Glasgow to see me. My brother, my cousin, my brother’s two friends and my agent travelled to cheer on Rangers and hopefully to see me play in Canada.

“Also a group of 75 from the supporters club in Toronto that my dad goes to came up to the game and stayed in Ottawa.

“I was gutted I wasn’t running out in front of them – but at least I was able to go up in the crowd and watch the game.

“It was very disappointing but it makes me extra determined to get fully fit in time for the new season kicking off.”

Aird is now back at Murray Park and stepping up his campaign to get into Ally McCoist’s thinking for the competitive opener against Hibs on Tuesday week.

The attacker said: “A lot of the other guys have had more minutes than me on the tour. I wish I had got their minutes.

“But I’m back to get treatment on my knee at Murray Park and then, hopefully, I will be fit come the Hibs game and the new season kicking off.

“I have to look on what has happened as just part and parcel of football.

“I had a good run of it. In two and a half years, I didn’t miss a training session. So that’s football but I intend to come back even stronger.

“I did a lot of fitness work over the summer to stay in shape. I’m also still young so I don’t lose fitness very easily.

“I was back over in Canada for the summer because I don’t usually see my family unless they come to see me.

“But I was out running every day and working in the gym to stay fit. I’ve worked as hard as I can for the new season.”

Aird knows the opportunity is there for him to become one of the heroes who will take Rangers from the bottom rung of the ladder and back into the top flight.

McCoist has great faith in the winger and Aird hopes to pay back his manager with the type of performances that earned him regular games in League Two and League One.

Aird doesn’t not want to be bracketed as a promising kid.

He wants to be seen as a senior player who can be relied on during any tough times and said: “I hope to make an impact.

“The gaffer has a lot of confidence in me too. He played me a lot last year.

“He knows I’m not a young boy and that if he calls on me, he can treat me like an older player.

“Once I get fit and get my chance it’s up to me to take it.

“The Rangers fans can all trust me. I played over 30 games last year and over 20 starts in a row for the first team.

“Fingers crossed I can do that again next season in the Championship because it would mean everything to me to be part of the Rangers team that gets back to the top flight.

“It would be an amazing achievement to be a young man who came into the team in the Third Division then worked his way through League One and, hopefully, do well in the Championship.

“It would be so great to get the team back to where they belong.

“Hopefully, I will be part of the side that wins Rangers their first Premiership title since getting back to the top.”